Life Study

The Power of a Praying Husband/Wife

When the power and presence of fear outweighs our assurance of the power and presence of God, we can become tormented by a spirit of fear. (Stormie)

When there is a void in our spirits, it leaves opportunity for the wrong things to fill up that void.

Fear can effect relationships with your spouse, with your friends. Fear of rejection is a big one. No one likes to feel rejected. Do you allow yourself to fear, rejection?

In sales, rejection is a part of life. Its a work in process but I can honestly say, it barely phases me when a customer rejects my product. But if someone rejects you personally thats a different ammminal.

On the extreme end, I recall meeting with a person that had become so fearful they would no longer leave the house. His wife had to get a job because he was no longer capable of working. He recalled the last time he pulled up to a customer/prospects parking lot and he could not get out of the car. He said he sat for over 30 minutes then finally drove himself home and has never worked since.

There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life – fear of death, fear of judgment – is one not yet fully formed in love. 1 John 4:18

Can we get a glimpse of God’s perspective regarding the loss of a loved one…I think so.

I posted some verses regarding life and death. I also included a few different versions of the scripture to help clarify the meaning.

A look at the dictionary gives us a more detailed explanation of how God views death of His creation.

Definition of pre·cious:

adjective

1. of high price or great value; very valuable or costly: precious metals.

2. highly esteemed for some spiritual, nonmaterial, or moral quality: precious memories.

3. dear; beloved: a precious child.

4. affectedly or excessively delicate, refined, or nice: precious manners.

I love how simple God makes it for us to choose life with Him.

Death causes us to think more keenly about ourselves as eternal beings don’t you think?

I’m glad we have eternity set in our hearts. We may not totally understand it, but God knew we would need it.

The Power of a Praying Husband/Wife

Pg. 123
“The main thing that makes a woman beautiful is knowing that she is loved. That’s why having God’s Spirit living in her and spending time in God’s presence in praise and worship is the most effective beauty treatment available. His love beautifies her inside and out. ” (Stormie)

And the love she provides for the family makes her beautiful don’t you think? There is something beautiful about watching a mother-wife take care of, look out for her family

“Her husband’s love also makes a woman beautiful. A woman who is not loved will wither and die”. (Stormie)

“How your wife feels about herself is ultimately as important to your happiness as it is to hers. Although you cannot be responsible for the image of herself that your wife brought into your marriage, you can contribute either positively or negatively to the image she grows into. Your words have more power to bring out the beauty in your wife than you ever dreamed possible” (Stormie)

Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Proverbs 31:30

The Power of a Praying Husband/Wife

pg. 113

“Your wife is constantly on trial. Or at least she can often feel that way. It is the unwritten law of the land that she be judged on how well her children behave, perform, succeed in school, and ultimately turn out in life”. (Stormie)

When you really stop and think about it, that is a massive responsibility for those who choose take it seriously.

“Above all, she will be held accountable to be a great wife, mother, daughter, friend, and neighbor. And if she fails at even one of the above, she will be put on trial and judged on circumstantial evidence by a not-so-impartial jury”. (Stormie)

Yes, we live in a society where many are looking for the “negative”. Our media has trained us to look for the headlines. Because most often the small positive things that make a family are not considered news.

“It does not help matters that she has the prosecutor of her soul forever providing expert witnesses of her failure”. (Stormie)

We know that satan (prosecutor of her soul):
can be an angel of light
is very subtle at times
deceives and tricks believers
Jesus called him, “prince of this world”
He is called a serpent, dragon, god of this world
he tempted Jesus
men, woman are taken captive by him
he is the accuser and a liar

God
My Husband
My Children
My Home
My church and extended family
My local community
ends of the earth

Pg. 114

“Sometimes your wife may feel the pressure of so many expectations at once that it overwhelms her, and this makes her less effective in getting done what she needs to do. She may even get discouraged and short-circuit. Understanding all this will help you pray for her”. (Stormie)

Its like the old saying, “Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like clearing the drive before it has stopped snowing”.

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33

The Power of a Praying Husband/Wife

Pg. 105

“Your wife wants you to pray that she will have good, godly relationships”. (Stormie)

“She needs friends who will pull for her, contribute to her life, and keep her on the right path, and who always give her a standard to which she can aspire”.
(Stormie)

…we should not be “unequally yoked together with unbelievers” 2 Corinthians 6:14

We are studying the book, “The Power of a Praying Husband/Wife” by Stormie Omartian. We will touch on all 20 chapters but not all of them will be posted here. I will also give a brief review at the end of the book. The book is published by Harvest House Publishers out of Eugene, Oregon and can be purchased at local Christian bookstores. I purchased the paperback for $12.99. I’ve added photos and graphics for your viewing pleasure.

One of the most profound statements from this book is as follows, “Don’t leave your marriage to chance“. This could be one of the most understated concepts in our lifetime.

Seeds in the marriage

“In order for a garden to not become a salad bar for hungry animals, it needs a fence around it to keep them out”.

(Stormie O)

Whack-a-mole

Or you could just buy an elephant with a sledge hammer.

We have some pesky moles in our grass. When you walk on the yard you can feel your weight sink in large portions of the yard. It appears to be irreversible. This mob family of moles has taken over our yard. We are no longer in control of what happens in the front or back yard. Even Tucker our fearless Shih-Tzu is afraid to leave the house.

There is one particular patch (maybe 10 x 15) where the grass has completely stopped growing. Michelle stuck a shovel in the ground and turned it and she had a shovel full of grub worms (moles love grub worms I’m told).

Our neighbors have problems with moles too, or at least they used too. They did not sit around 2 minutes before taking action. They purchased two $40 traps at Gemmins and have hung 4 moles on their belt (killed/caught 4 moles). Wow! I’ve been told catching one mole is an achievement, but your lucky if you catch two. The lady next door must be the mole assassin of the neighborhood. If your a mole I highly recommend you skip the house next door. You don’t want to upset the mole “hitwoman”. Because she don’t play around when it comes to her yard or her garden.

We now own one of those mole traps. And I have something else up my sleeve if that does not work.

Maybe we should have this attitude when it comes to our marriage, to be quite serious about any dying patches or any pests no matter how small or large. Do whatever it takes to make things right. Remove the things that are not welcome.

Pg. 86-87

“If you have serious problems in your marriage, know that God can work miracles when you pray. He can change hearts and perspectives in an instant. He can uproot seeds of sin, resurrect love where it has died, and make it not only grow again, but flourish”.

I like that part, the “flourish” part.

“Cling to what is good in your marriage with all sincerity of heart, despise what the devil is trying to plant there. Pray that God will show you how to plant new seeds of unconditional love, (A garden has to be replanted every year.) With proper care, those seeds of love will produce a great harvest”.

Just like a garden, a marriage requires replanting. Are you surprised by this? I was when I first realized it.

If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my father in heaven. Matthew 18:19

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“But its not about causing our mate to grow into our image, it’s about both husband and wife growing into God’s image, together”. (Stormie)

Even if you could get your spouse to be just like you think you wanted, I’m betting you still would not be satisfied. True satisfaction comes from the Lord.

“Ask God to help you and your wife appreciate your differences…The very thing that is designed to be our greatest blessing can often become an irritant because we don’t ask God to let us see it from His perspective”. (Stormie)

I wonder how many times we miss something from God because on the surface it does not appeal to us. I don’t know about you, but I can look back at circumstances which I thought were one way and turned out to be completely different than I expected. I’m talking about lessons learned or good things that happened where I had no clue that would be the end result.

1 Cor. 2:9

That’s why we have this Scripture text: No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it – What God has arranged for those who love him.